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Invest in the success of your small business with group health insurance.
Group health insurance, or employer sponsored health insurance, was designed with you and your small business in mind. As a small business owner, it’s important to be able to recruit and retain top talent, and health insurance is one of the most sought-after benefits that can help attract job seekers. But more than that, caring about your employee’s wellbeing is something they will thank you for.
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(888) 633-5229
RETAIN TOP TALENT
ATTRACT JOB SEEKERS
BOOST PRODUCTIVITY
A healthy and happy workforce can reduce costs by more than $1,600 per employee, with reduced leave days caused by disability or unplanned sickness.
Quick Links:
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Common Questions About Group Health Insurance
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Benefits to Employers for Offering Group Health Insurance
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How Does Group Health Insurance Work?
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Paying for Group Health Insurance
COMMON QUESTIONS ABOUT GROUP HEALTH INSURANCE
WHAT IS EMPLOYER SPONSORED GROUP HEALTH INSURANCE?
A group health insurance plan is an insurance plan that provides healthcare coverage to employees of a business. Group health insurance plans are one of the major benefits offered by many employers.
ARE EMPLOYERS REQUIRED TO OFFER HEALTH INSURANCE TO EMPLOYEES?
Under the Affordable Care Act, certain employers (called applicable large employers) must either offer minimum essential coverage that is “affordable” and provides “minimum value” to their full-time employees (and their dependents) or risk hefty fines.
WHAT IS THE BEST GROUP HEALTH INSURANCE PLAN?
The best group health insurance is the one that provides you and your employees with the best coverage for your individual needs. Woligo’s team of experts is on standby, ready to help you find the right plan for you.
WHEN CAN I GET GROUP HEALTH INSURANCE FOR MY SMALL BUSINESS?
There is no open enrollment period for group health insurance plans, so that you can shop for group health insurance any time of the year.
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(888) 633-5229
WHAT ARE APPLICABLE LARGE EMPLOYERS?
Applicable large employers or ALEs are employers that have an average of at least 50 full-time employees (including full-time-equivalent employees) during the preceding calendar year.
WHAT IS A QUALIFYING LIFE EVENT?
A qualifying life event (QLE) is typically the only time you can enroll in a group health insurance plan outside of open enrollment. A QLE is a change in your situation, like getting married or having a baby— that can make you eligible for a Special Enrollment Period, allowing you to enroll in health insurance outside of the yearly open enrollment period.
WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF QUALIFYING LIFE EVENTS?
There are four basic types of qualifying life events: loss of health coverage, changes in household, changes in residence, and “other” such as becoming a citizen of the United States or leaving jail or prison.
WHAT IS CONSIDERED “MINIMUM VALUE” HEALTH COVERAGE?
A health plan meets the minimum value standard if the plan is designed to pay at least 60% of the total cost of medical services for a standard population, and its benefits include substantial coverage of physician and inpatient hospital services.
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(888) 633-5229
WHAT ARE ESSENTIAL HEALTH BENEFITS?
The Affordable Care Act requires individual and small group health plans to cover ten essential health benefits, which include:
- (1) ambulatory patient services;
- (2) emergency services;
- (3) hospitalization;
- (4) maternity and newborn care;
- (5) mental health and substance use disorder services including behavioral health treatment;
- (6) prescription drugs;
- (7) rehabilitative and habilitative services and devices;
- (8) laboratory services;
- (9) preventive and wellness services and chronic disease management;
- (10) pediatric services, including oral and vision care.
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(888) 633-5229
BENEFITS TO EMPLOYERS AND EMPLOYEES FOR OFFERING GROUP HEALTH INSURANCE
GROUP HEALTH PLAN BENEFITS
- Employee recruitment – offering desirable benefits helps attract top talent
- Employee retention – help keep your employees happy by supporting their wellbeing
- Boost productivity – a comprehensive health plan means your employees can get the help they need to get back to work
- Saves you money
WHAT ARE SOME BENEFITS TO EMPLOYERS FOR GROUP HEALTH INSURANCE?
Employers decide to offer group health insurance, even when they are not required to do so, because of the benefits. Perks like employer-paid health insurance make your business more competitive and help attract top talent. Strong medical and wellness benefits also help keep your workforce healthy, reduce absenteeism and boost overall productivity.
WHAT ARE SOME BENEFITS TO EMPLOYEES FOR GROUP HEALTH INSURANCE?
Group health insurance is one of the most sought-after employer benefits because of how valuable it is to employees. Group health insurance provides employees affordable health insurance, can offer mental health treatments and chiropractic services often not available through the cheapest individual plans, and helps improve morale and productivity in the workplace.
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(888) 633-5229
HOW DOES GROUP HEALTH INSURANCE WORK?
HOW DOES EMPLOYER SPONSORED GROUP HEALTH INSURANCE WORK?
With group health insurance, the employer selects the plan (or plans) to offer employees, and the premiums are usually split between the employer and employee.
HOW MANY PEOPLE DO I NEED TO ENROLL IN A GROUP HEALTH PLAN?
If you have your own small business and employ at least one full-time employee that will also be covered by the plan, that may be all you need to get coverage by enrolling in a group health insurance plan. The rules and qualifications for enrolling in a group health insurance plan may differ based on the insurance company or the specific plan.
HOW LONG DO YOU NEED TO BE IN BUSINESS TO GET SMALL BUSINESS HEALTH INSURANCE?
There is no set amount of time that you need to be in business in order to get small business health insurance. However, when underwriting for a group health plan, underwriters look at how long a company has been in business, how long employees have been employed (turnover), whether the demographics are relatively stable, and other factors to help assess the financial risk.
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(888) 633-5229
WHAT KIND OF COMPANIES ARE ELIGIBLE FOR SMALL BUSINESS HEALTH INSURANCE?
The cost of an individual health insurance plan depends on the specific policy and coverage you choose. You can call (888) 633-5229 to get a quote through Woligo right now.
WHEN CAN I SIGN UP FOR A GROUP HEALTH PLAN?
Anytime. There is no enrollment period for group health insurance.
HOW DO YOU FIND THE BEST PLAN FOR MY EMPLOYEES?
Our brokers scour the ends of the earth, AKA search through all national and regional carriers. (CA excluded)
WHEN CAN AN EMPLOYEE JOIN A GROUP HEALTH INSURANCE PLAN?
As a new employee, you will be given a certain amount of time in which you are eligible to enroll in your company’s group health insurance plan. However, if you don’t decide to get coverage at that time, you won’t be able to enroll in the group plan until the next open enrollment period.
DO I HAVE TO OFFER FAMILY COVERAGE FOR MY EMPLOYEES?
Under the Affordable Care Act, ALEs must offer minimum essential coverage to full-time employees and their dependents to avoid paying fines.
DO SMALL BUSINESSES HAVE TO PROVIDE HEALTH INSURANCE TO EMPLOYEES?
While there is no law that requires employer sponsored health insurance, you could be penalized if you don’t. Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) employers with 50 or more full-time equivalent employees must offer health insurance to their full-time employees (30+ hours per week) or risk paying a penalty to the IRS. At $3,860 (2020) per employee for year, the penalty definitely serves as an incentive to offer health insurance to your employees. However, the penalty is only triggered if one of your employees obtains coverage through the exchange and receives a premium subsidy.
Still, many small companies offer health insurance to employees even if they aren’t required to do so by law because of all of the advantages that come with it.
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(888) 633-5229
CAN I OFFER HEALTH INSURANCE TO ONLY SOME OF MY EMPLOYEES?
Under the Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act (HIPAA), employers that offer group health insurance must offer it to similarly situated employees. Employers can decide to offer health insurance to different groups of employees based on a bona fide employment classification—for example, based on full-time or part-time status, length of employment, geographic location, or job position. However, within those groups, similarly situated employees must be treated the same.
WHAT IF I DON’T EXTEND INSURANCE COVERAGE TO DEPENDENTS OF MY EMPLOYEES?
ALEs could face a penalty for failing to offer coverage to full-time employees and their dependents.
CAN I STILL GET GROUP INSURANCE IF I DON’T HAVE EMPLOYEES?
Most states require the owner of a company to have at least one fulltime employee who is not their spouse in order to qualify for group coverage.
CAN AN INSURANCE COMPANY REFUSE TO RENEW A GROUP HEALTH INSURANCE PLAN?
An insurance company can refuse to renew a group health plan if the employer has committed fraud or intentional misrepresentation, the employer has failed to comply with the terms of the health insurance contract or non-payment of premiums. Except in some states, guaranteed renewal doesn’t limit how much you can be charged if you renew your coverage.
WHAT HAPPENS IF AN EMPLOYEE HAS A PRE-EXISTING CONDITION?
The ACA prevents an insurance company from denying major health insurance coverage because of a pre-existing condition. This requirement is known in the insurance industry as “guaranteed issue.”
HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO GET A QUOTE?
Within minutes we can have a plan comparison of the best employer sponsored health insurance that illustrates plan benefits and costs. Proposals can be emailed, printed and sent via text directly from our system, depending on your preference.
Over half (55%) of employees say that health insurance is the most important benefit in terms of their job satisfaction.
PAYING FOR GROUP HEALTH INSURANCE
HOW MUCH DOES EMPLOYER SPONSORED HEALTH INSURANCE COST?
There are a lot of factors that determine how much a group health plan will cost such as your zip code, age, number of dependents enrolling and how much you want to contribute to your employee’s coverage.
WHAT IS CONSIDERED “AFFORDABLE” HEALTH COVERAGE?
For a full-time employee, coverage is considered affordable if the lowest cost health plan (for self-only, no dependents) is 9.12% or less of the employee’s household income. Because it is unlikely for an employer to know their employees’ household income, they are allowed to use a W-2 Form, an employee’s rate of pay, or the federal poverty line for purposes of the employer shared responsibility provisions.
HOW MUCH WOULD GROUP HEALTH INSURANCE COST A SMALL BUSINESS OWNER?
Small business health insurance costs are determined by your location (state), the number of employees, and how much you’d like to contribute to your employees’ coverage.
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(888) 633-5229
HOW MUCH WOULD GROUP HEALTH INSURANCE COST MY EMPLOYEES?
The cost to your employees depends on several factors, such as the specific plan you choose and how much of their premium you are willing to pay.
WHAT TAX BENEFITS CAN I GET FOR OFFERING EMPLOYER SPONSORED HEALTH INSURANCE?
Employer premium contributions for employees and dependents are generally 100% deductible as business expenses under federal and state tax law.
WHAT IS THE SMALL BUSINESS HEALTH CARE TAX CREDIT?
The business health care tax credit is another tax benefit for employers but has certain requirements. To be eligible for the tax credit, employers must have fewer than 25 full-time employees, pay less than $50,000 a year on average per employee; and, offer a qualified health plan to its employees through a Small Business Health Options Program Marketplace. You must also pay at least 50 percent of the cost of employee-only – not family or dependent – health care coverage for each employee.
HOW MUCH COULD I GET FROM THE SMALL BUSINESS HEALTH CARE TAX CREDIT?
The amount of the credit you receive works on a sliding scale. The smaller the employer, the bigger the credit.
WHAT IF I DON’T OWE TAXES DURING THE YEAR?
If you are a small business employer who did not owe taxes during the year, you can carry the credit back or forward to other tax years
CAN I OFFER MY EMPLOYEES GROUP HEALTH INSURANCE WITHOUT PAYING FOR IT?
Some employers are required to pay a portion of their employees’ health insurance premium to remain ACA-compliant or be eligible for the small business health care tax credit.
Call now:
(888) 633-5229
WHERE CAN I GO TO FIND OUT MORE INFORMATION ON GROUP INSURANCE PLANS?
Obtain a free quote by by calling (888) 633-5229 and selecting option 1 or filling out our questionaire online.